New online portal streamlines employee training

It's only fitting that an institution of higher learning like Iowa State should have a centralized system that faculty and staff can tap into to learn about ongoing professional development and safety training. Unfortunately, that has not been the case …  until now.

Learn@ISU FAQ

Find out more with the list of frequently asked questions.

Learn@ISU is a new online learning management portal, which allows employees to browse and register for any ISU training class, no matter which department is sponsoring it.

The idea was born out of vice president of university human resources Julie Nuter's desire to find a better way to provide ISU employees with professional development opportunities. She and her staff partnered with environmental health and safety, which had been using an online training tool for some time, to create the system.

"Learn@ISU is, more or less, a facelift for the EH&S system, with the addition of a new login page and support website," said Linda Cronk, EH&S communications specialist.

Departments that currently have classes in the system are university human resources, EH&S, university counsel and enrollment services. Classes from the purchasing and controller departments will be added in about a month, and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) will add courses the beginning of spring semester.

How it works

To register for a training class, log on to Learn@ISU (university home page > Info for > Faculty and staff  > Sign-Ons) with your Net-ID and password. From there, browse the course catalogs by list, look at a calendar schedule of upcoming classes or conduct a quick search for a particular class. 

The "My Menu" tab is all about you -- your personal profile, training requirements, and, eventually, a history of training classes you've taken at Iowa State. The "My Training Needs" tab links to a questionnaire that can help employees determine which safety training classes their jobs require.

Good for departments

Learn@ISU allows departments to target training for specific groups and to manage their own courses.

"Departments can use Learn@ISU for targeted training delivery and tracking," Cronk said. "It's an easy-to-use system, but we provide training and support for any department that wants to use it."

Department representatives interested in learning how to add training classes to Learn@ISU should complete a training area request form. UHR and EH&S staff will meet with the department to determine its training needs and provide a custom training session.

"Our training partners on campus are key to the success of Learn@ISU," Nuter said. "Their contributions will help employees stay connected to training for on-the-job success. I also hope managers will look at Learn@ISU as a resource for tying learning into performance and individual development plans."

What about AccessPlus?

All training classes currently available on AccessPlus will be migrated to Learn@ISU within the next few months. Questions about those classes should be directed to the department offering the class, or to learnisu@iastate.edu.